Chair mounting for airplanes



Jan. 7, 1941. A. w. JONES CHAIR MOUNTING FOR AIRPLANES Filed Sept. 26,1938 ATTORNEYS Cir Patented Jan. 7, 1941 cnsnt MOUNTING FOR AmrLANssAdam W. Jones, Montoursville, Pa. I Application September 26, 1938,Serial No. 231,749

3 Claims. (01. -99 e e lugs which are mounted on the body of an airplaneThis invention relates to means for mounting a chair on the body of anairplane.

It has been found by experience that when an airplane comes to a suddenstop, as for example when striking an obstruction, that the aviator orpassenger occupyinga chair or seat fixed on the body is often injured byreason of this person being subjected to a. violent forward thrownotwithstanding that this person is fastened to the chair by straps orotherwise.

One of the objects of this invention is, to provide simple and reliablemeans for mounstingthe chair of an airplane on the body of the same soas to permit the chair and its occupant to move forwardly independentlyof the body in the event of the latter striking an obstruction and thussave the occupant from the full force of the a shock which wouldotherwise be experienced.

Another object of this invention is to combine with a chair mounting ofthis character cushioning means which yieldingly resist the forwardmovement of the chair relative to the body and thus aid in reducing theshocking effect on the person. l

A further object of this invention is to provide means for preventingthe chair after being thrown forwardly violently, from recoilingbackwardly quickly and thereby preventing injury which otherwise mightoccur to the person occupying the seat.

With this end in view this invention consists generally of means formounting thechair on the body of an airplane so that this chair whenmoved forwardly relative to the body will travel a path which extendsforwardly and upwardly instead of merely forwardly, whereby the personoccupying the chair will be tossed in a curved forward and upwarddirection and thus relieved substantially from the shock to which theperson i is subjected, also by associating with this chair mountingspring means which yieldingly resist the forward movement of the chairand thus cushion the shock when the body stops suddenly 7 and the chairis thrown forwardly, and also by embodying in this chair mounting detentmeans whereby the chair after being thrown forwardly is prevented fromagain moving rearwardly until manually released.

In the accompanying drawing:7 7 a Fig. 1 is a side elevation of meansfor mounting a chair on the body of an airplane in ac cordance with thisinvention. 7

Fig. 21s a bottom plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a cross section, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 3-4, Fig.1.

In the following description similar characters of reference indicatelike parts in the several figures of the drawing: a

The numerals III, II and I2 represent, respectively, front, intermediateand rear brackets or so as to practically form an integral part thereof,said body, whichfis representedinFig. ,1 by dottedlines 13, being of anysuitable construction.

Over the front part of this bodyis arranged the chair which is to. beoccupied by the person riding in the airplane such as the aviator orpassenger. Although this chair maybe variously constructed, that formwhich is shown in the drawing comprises a lower horizontal bottom frame14 which carries aseat IS, a rear frame l6 projectingupwardly from thebottom frame l4 and carrying the back l1, and side frames 18 connectingthe bottom frame and back frame and carrying the arm rests 19. In orderto prevent the person occupyingthexchair from falling out of the somewhile the airplane, is in operation,

fasteningmeans are provided which preferably consist of astrap20"adapted to pass forwardly around the body of this person andconnected at opposite ends by any suitable means with eyes it whichproject upwardly from the lower rear parts of the chair frame. 7 7 l l l7 Means are provided for connectingthe chair withrthe body of'theairplane in such a manner that the chair is capable of moving in adlrection horizontally lengthwise offthe body and also vertically intheforward part of this movement. The means for this purpose which areshown in the drawingare preferably constructed asfoliows: ,7 ,7

The numerals 22 represent two rear upright comparatively short: linkswhich are arranged on opposite sides of the rear part of the chair andeach of which is pivoted at its upper endfby means of a horizontaltransverse bolt 23, or the like, to c a lug 24 projecting downwardlyfrom the rear sideapart of the chair frame ll while the lower end ofthis link is pivotally connected by means of 7a horiZOntaltranSversebolt 25, or the like, with the adjacent intermediate lug II on the bodyof the airplane. Thenumeral 2B represents atwo upright front,comparatively long linkswhich are arrangedon opposite sides of the\flOIilG part of the chair and each of which is pivotally connected'atits: upperend by means of 7a .horizontalptransverse bolt 21, orthe like,with a lug 28 projectingdownwardly from the adjacent front side portionof the chair bottom while the lower end ofthislink is pivotallyconnected by meansofa horizontal transverse bolt 29, or the 7 like, withthe adjacent bracket l0 ofthe airplane body. 4

In the preferredconstruction the lowerrpivots 25 and 29 of rtherearandfront links are arranged f horizontally in line, as shown in Fig. 1,or substantially so, and the upper pivots-23 andll of these links arearranged on a plane which rises forwardly relative ito the planeon whichthe lower pivots 25 and of these linksare arranged.

In the normal operative position of this chair, in which it is rearmostand lowermost relative to the body, both the rear and front links 22 and23 are inclined rearwardly and these links stand at an angle ofapproximately 30, relative to the bottom frame of the chair, as shown byfull lines in Fig. 1. When, however, the forward movement of theairplane is suddenly checked or stopped altogether, such as would occur,for example when the airplane strikes an obstruction, then the momentumof the chair together with the load of the person occupyin the same willcause this chair and the person to be thrown violently forwardly. Duringsuch movement of the chair both the rear and front links Hand 28 n willalso move forwardly into a posiltion in which they aresubstantially'upright and perpendicular to the bottom frame of the chairand the body of the airplane, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

front end relative toits rear end duejto'th chair follows at this time,whereby ,th pc occupying the seat will be move?! forwardly also elevatedduring the latter part-o this for rely 'movedward movement, instead ofbeingjjrn forwardly in a direction substantially-flparallel with thebody of the airplane, thereby causing this person to be tossed'forwardlyand upwardly" and relieving this person-from the full effects of theshock which otherwise wouldbe experienced.

The shock to which the occupant of the seat is subjected is further.reduced byso, organizing the front links of the "chairsupporting meansthat they absorb a considerable amount of this shock. Although variousabsorbing means. may be employed for this purpose-those whichnare shownin Fig. l are suitable for this purpose and as there shown 'thesameconsist in making each of the front links 2i-offupper and lower sections30, 3| which have their outer ends pivoted respectively to the chairantibody of the airplane while their' inner ends-are guided upon eachother and are yieldinglyheldin a distended or elongated positionbyfmeansfof aspring 32. In the construction shown in Fig- 1 thef'llppersection 30 of each front link is made inJthe form of a tube and thelower sectlo'n'3l hasthe form ofa hollow rod and thespring =32is-srranged in the tubular upper section '30 of this link and bears withits upper'end'against: a shoulder 33 at the upper end of'the linksection 30 while its lower end bears against the upper end of thetubular rod 3|. The extension orelongation of the two sections of eachlink 23' under the action of the spring 32 maybe-limited in variousways, for example,by means of cooperating shoulders formed on theseparts as shown at 34 in Fig. l.

time.

Means are provided which operate to yieldingly hold the chair in itsrearmost normal position but permit the chair and its occupant to moveforwardly under their momentum independently of the body of the airplanein the event that the latter is stopped by engagement with anobstruction. The preferred means provided for this purpose which areshown in the drawing are constructed as follows:

The numeral 35 represents two cylinders arranged in rear of the sideparts of the chair and each provided at its lower end with a head 38which is pivoted by means of a horizontal transverse bolt 31 to theadjacent bracket I! on the body of the airplane. At its upper end eachof these cylinders is provided with a head 33 having a central guideopening 39. Within the lower part of each of the cylinders 36 isarranged a piston or plunger 40 which is provided with an upwardly,extendingoonnecting rod 4| passing through the guide opening 38 in theupper end of the-respective cylinder and pivotally connected byrmeans'pfa horizontal transverse bolt 42 with an attaching lug 43 projectingdownwardly from the adjacent part of the chair frame. Within eachcylinder is arranged a spring system which [is so, constructed thatduring the first part of *the upward movement ofthe plunger 40 in thiscylinder this spring system will offer only a -moderate resistanceto theplunger and thereafter this spring resistance increases and is mostpronounced during the last part'of the upward stroke of the plunger inthe cylinder, thereby causing the forward movement of the chair whenthrown forwardly by momentum, independently of the body of the airplane,to be checked gradually by encountering progressively increasing re-'sistance, thereby further relieving the person occupying the chair fromthe shock incident to the collision of the body of the airplane withsome obstruction. In the preferred form of these spring resistancemeans, the same comprise helical spring sections 44, 45 and 48 which arearranged in the cylinder 35 around the connecting rod 4|, the lowermostone of these spring sections 44 being interposed between the plunger 44and a lower separating disk 41 mounted on the rod 4|, and being made ofcomparatively light wire so that the-same is only of light tension andoffers a moderate resistance, the intermediate section 43 of this springbeing interposed between the lower separating disk 41 and an upperseparating disk, 43 mounted on the rod 4| and made of heavier wire thanthe lower spring a section- 44 so as. to be of stronger tension andoffer agreater resistance, and'the upper spring .section- 48 beingarranged between the upper separating disk 43 and the upper head 33 ofthe cylinder and made of heavier wire than the intermediate' springsection so as to be of high strength or tension and offer the greatestresistance to the upward movement'of the plunger The combined effect ofthe several spring'sections of the spring system in each of thesecylinders 33 operates to hold thechair in its rearmost normal positionwhich islimited by engagement of the lower ends of the connectingdrods4| with the lower heads 36 of the cylinders 35, as shown in Fig. 1. Ifthe chair is thrown forwardly only to a moderate extent relative to thebody of the airplane due to a comparatively mild impact of thebody withan obstruction, then this partial forward movement of the chair willonly compress the lowermost or light springs ll, but when the momentumwith which the chair is thrown forward relative to the body of theairplane is greater, then the plungers ill will move upwardly in thecylinders to a greater extent and not only compress the lowermost lightsprings but also compress the intermediate heavier springs. If, however,the chair is thrown forwardly under a momenum of maximum force, theneach piston 40 will not only compress the lower light tension spring 44and the intermediate spring 45 of greater tension but also compress theupper heaviest spring the tension of which offers the greatestresistance thereby combining the cushioning effect of the severalsprings in each group and causing the shock upon the person occupyingthe chair to be reduced accordingly.

In the absence of any other provision, the chair after being thrownforwardly by momentum relative to the airplane body will be againreturned automatically to its rearmost normal position by resilience ofthe several sections of the spring system. This return or recoilmovement of these springs is, however, checked by making each of thecylinders 35 practically airtight and providing each of the plungers IIIwith an annular packing 49 so that when each plunger moves upwardly airis free to move from the upper end of each cylinder past its plunger andinto the lower end of the. respective cylinder, but when this plungermoves downwardly the air in the lower end of this cylinder will betrapped therein. and escapes slowly therefrom into the upper part of therespective cylinder due to the leakage of the air past the joint betweenthe respective plunger and cylinder. By this construction each cylinder35 and its plunger 40, in' effect, form a dash-pot which operates toprevent the recoil of the spring system from returning the chairsuddenly to its rearmost position and possibly injuring the occupant ofthe chair if this occupant were jerked back suddenly after being thrownforwardly.

. Means are provided whereby the chair after being moved forwardly bymomentum independently of the airplane body is prevented fromimmediately recoiling backwardly and possibly injuring the occupant ofthe chair, such as snapping back the head and breaking the neck of theoccupant. The means suitable for this purpose shown in thedrawingcomprise two detent pawls 50 arranged in an inclined position onopposite sides of the connecting rod ll and above the upper head 38 ofeach cylinder 35 and pawl pivoted at its outer end by a pin 5| on saidhead and engaging its inner end with the adjacent part of said rod, anda spring 52 which holds said pawl yieldingly in engagement with said rodand which is interposed between the respective pawl and an abutment 53on the upper head 38 of the cylinder. By these means the plunger andconnecting rod II are free to move upwardly in the cylinder and compressthe cluster of spring sections therein for cushioning the forwardmovement of the chair and its occupant but retrograde movement of theseparts is prevented by the clutch action of the detent pawls 50 on theconnecting rod thereby avoiding the sudden return of the chair uponreaching the limit of its forward movement and eliminating thepossibility of harmful effects which might follow such quick return ofthe chair.

Restoration of the chair to its normalrearward position can be readilyeffected by first releasing the. pawls 50 manually from the connectingrod 4| so that the resilience of the springs 44, 45, 46 can operate tomove the chair and thereupon reengaging these pawls with said rod readyfor repeating this detent function.

These means for mounting the chair of an airplane on the body positivelyabsorb most, ifnot' all, the objectionable shock which theoccupant ofthe chair would suffer in the absence of such provision and thereforereduce to a minimumthe i liability of injuring the occupant of the chairin case the airplane collides with an obstruction or effects a nosedive. I

Iclaimasmyinzvention:

1. An airplane comprising a body, a chair, a linkage movably connectingsaid chair and body and spring means which yieldingly resist the forwardmovement of said chair andis con structed to offer successivelygreaterresistanoe to the forward movement of the chair and whichincludes a lower cylinder pivoted to the body, a plunger arranged in thecylinder and connected with the chair, a lower light tensioned springengaging with said plunger, an upper heavy tensioned spring engagingwith the upper end of said cylinde and an intermediate tensioned spring.interposed between said lower andupper springs.

2. An airplane-comprising a body, a chair, a linkage connecting saidchair and body, and means for controlling the movement of saidchairrelative to said-body including a cylinder connected with the body, aplunger movable lengthwise in the cylinder and having and connected withsaid chair, spring means interposed between i said plunger and thecylinder and operating to yieldingly resist the forward movement of saidchair, and detent means which permit forward movement of the chairbutprevent. backward movement of the same including pawls pivoted on Ithe cylinder and engaging opposite sides of said said pawls andabutments on said cylinder and a operating to hold the pawls inengagement with rod, and retaining springs interposed between 8. A chairmounting for airplanes comprisinga comparatively long front linkpivotally connected at its lower and upper ends with the body of theairplane and the front part of the chair, respec-' tively; acomparatively short rear link spaced from said front link and pivotallyconnected at its lower and upper ends with said body and the rear partof the chair, said chair and links being movable forwardly andbackwardly in a vertical plane, the pivotal connections between thelower ends of said links and the airplane body being stationary andarranged horizontally inline and the pivotal connectionsbetween theupper ends of said links and said chair being arranged on an inclinedline which risesforwardly relative tothe line on which the lower ends ofsaid links are pivotally connected with said airplane body, so that inthe'rearward position of said links the chair will be tipped upwardly atits front end to a moderate extent while in the forward position of thelinks the chair will be tipped upwardly at its front end'to a greaterextent, and yielding 7 means whereby said chair is yieldingly held inits rearmost position and permits the same to move forwardly under itsmomentum when the forward movement of the airplane is arrested. 1

